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Former CFL WR DeVier Posey Is Intriguing Addition For Ravens

By: Glenn Clark,February 9, 2018

The Baltimore Ravens need receiving help this offseason.

Stunning revelation, right?

I reiterate their need for receiving help because I believe the team needs to be using every avenue possible to find upgrades for a moribund position group that has been the biggest bugaboo for the franchise since their inception in 1996.

The Ravens need to consider free agents, like Miami's Jarvis Landry and Jacksonville's Allen Robinson. They need to consider drafting someone like Alabama's Calvin Ridley or SMU's Courtland Sutton with the 16th overall pick in the NFL Draft. They need to consider using later picks on players like Maryland's D.J. Moore. They need to consider trading for a receiver like Cleveland's Josh Gordon. They need to use every avenue available to them in an attempt to solve the massive issue that faces them. Heck, they should even look to Canada.

Perhaps you rolled your eyes this week at the news that the Ravens had signed Toronto Argonauts receiver DeVier Posey, the reigning Grey Cup MVP. But the former Ohio State receiver and third-round pick is most certainly an intriguing addition to the team -- as his first NFL stint was cut short in part by injury, and he appeared to rejuvenate his career north of the border.

The experience was obviously eye-opening for the 27-year-old.

"Our locker room was in a high school gymnasium," Posey said in an interview with
Glenn Clark Radio Feb. 8. "We're getting on yellow buses going to public fields [to practice]."

Posey said a return to the NFL was always part of the plan for him when he went to Canada in 2016. Despite having just 22 catches for 272 yards in four NFL seasons, he thinks he has more to offer this time around and is looking to a former CFL and NFL star for inspiration.

"I believe that's the obvious reason why I took a shot back -- is that belief in myself, belief in my ability, just belief in the whole story," Posey said. I've looked up to people like Doug Flutie my whole life. And I don't know if you know his story, but he's the only other Grey Cup MVP to have played in the NFL and the CFL after he won the Grey Cup MVP. I think, for me, just believing that rhetoric and believing that story and knowing like 'this is what's supposed to happen, this is what's meant to be.' It's a goal that I had set out when I went up there.

"With this football game, you only get so many years and so many plays. I guess one of the bigger things I'm going to do is appreciate it."

The former Texans draft pick was particularly interested in the opportunity with the Ravens because of the admiration he has for their long-standing divisional rivalries.

"Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, I got real familiar with the AFC North," Posey said. "I grew up highlighting guys like [former Bengals receivers] Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry, [former Steelers receiver] Hines Ward, [former Ravens receiver] Derrick Mason, guys like that -- [former tight end] Kellen Winslow in Cleveland. Just being able to see what that league is like every single year, year in and year out. Just being one of the toughest leagues.

"It's almost funny how they talk about how physical it has been of lately, you know, with [Bengals linebacker Vontaze] Burfict and the Steelers. It's like, 'Man, this has been going on for years with Hines Ward, [former Ravens linebacker] Ray Lewis and those guys.' Just to be a part of this league, I just know what it means. I know what it means to play in cold weather and to be tough and to catch the ball and take a hit, that type of thing."

Posey expressed a particular affinity for Charm City.

"I'm just excited to throw on the purple and black and just represent what Baltimore represents as a whole," Posey said. "The culture -- hard working, blue collar people who are all about earning everything they get in life. I think for me, I mean, that's the story of my career, and that's the story of where I come from. So I think it was a perfect match and a perfect fit. You just get a good feeling when you're around the building."

Former Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman was the head coach of the Argonauts team that Posey helped to the Grey Cup title this season. Despite being fired by the Ravens in 2016, Trestman was high on Baltimore as a destination for Posey.

"We spoke and he spoke very highly of the organization and people I should talk to and how excited he was for me as a player to be around [receivers coach] Bobby Engram and to grow there and be around guys like [receiver] Mike Wallace and [quarterback Joe] Flacco and [receiver Jeremy] Maclin and [tight end Benjamin] Watson and just what I could bring to the table. He just told me to go be myself and enjoy it and be blessed in this opportunity and embrace the city of Baltimore and just go be you."

The Ravens still need more help at the position and one of the other free agents available is Redskins receiver Terrelle Pryor, who just so happened to be Posey's quarterback at Ohio State. So can we expect Posey to lead the recruitment of Pryor to Baltimore?

"I haven't spoken with TP yet," Posey said. "I'd love to catch up with him. That's my guy. We've played a lot of football games together and won a lot of games, lost a lot of games, learned a lot of lessons. That's my guy; I would love to have him in Baltimore. I haven't spoke with him yet -- I think that's over my head right there."